PPP to hold protests against water shortage

KARACHI: The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Sindh chapter has announced holding protests at the district-level in the province from June 3 to June 15 against acute water shortage and injustice on the part of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) in this regard, and curtailment of gas to the residents of the province.

The decision to this effect was made as the executive committee of the PPP Sindh chapter met on Monday. PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro chaired the meeting. Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Khuhro said they would not be silent anymore about the excesses being committed by the federal government and IRSA against the province.

It was announced that protest demonstrations would be held in the Larkana division on June 3, five districts of the Hyderabad division on June 5, Mirpurkhas division on June 7, Sukkur division on June 9, Shaheed Benazirabad division on June 11, the remaining five districts of the Hyderabad division on June 13, and Karachi division on June 15.

The PPP Sindh president said the executive committee had expressed serious reservations on the water shortage, price-hike, unemployment and curtailment of power and gas supply to the province.

He added that the agriculture sector of the province had to suffer losses to the tune of billions of rupees due to the worsening crisis of irrigation water. He maintained that the province had been facing the shortage of irrigation water up to 40 per cent.

The CJ and TP link canals in the upcountry had been unduly opened despite water shortage in the system, he said. Khuhro alleged that Irsa had been acting in an unjust manner as if it had become a ‘B’ team of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in the federal government.

He said Sindh was being denied its due water share in violation of the constitution. Pumping machines had been illegally installed in the river system upcountry to steal water of the province, he added.